#SpokesComp 2018 – Cycling Lives Transformed!!

Being able to cycle more (9 people); feeling safer or more confident cycling (8 people); feeling better or healthier (7 people); getting family or friends onto bikes (6 people) – many such inspiring and touching personal transformations were related by entrants to our summer competition.

Other transformations experienced by 4 or more people, thanks to their bike, included…

Improved cycling infrastructure, enabling a safer or more pleasant journey – this was the most common factor (8 people). Sometimes a genuinely new facility, sometimes just changing job or house and finding a nicer ride to work, shops or wherever. Specific routes mentioned more than once were – the Meadows to Innocent segregated route; routes through the Meadows; and the canal towpath.

Buying an e-bike (5 people) was huge! All 5 entrants had massively increased their cycling, three had lost 1-2 stones, one had lost “a ton of weight” and the fifth was slim already!

Adaptive bikes/ trailers/ cargo bikes (4 people) These specialist machines can bring wonderful new opportunities, beyond the reach of a standard bike. It is a message to the Council to ensure that routes cater for them, with carefully designed entry points.

Two people each were inspired by the Edinburgh-wide 20mph and by taking part in charity cycling events.

The range of other inspirations was staggering! – read the entries and see below.

Two Saltersgate students on tricycles in the A68 tunnel on Woodburn to Whitecraig cycle path

TOP PRIZEWINNERS

Note – the complete set of entries is in a 10MB download below.

First prize went to Mary Higgins, a teacher from Saltersgate Special School in Dalkeith. The introduction of tricycles “has transformed cycling opportunities and skills development for our young people with complex learning disabilities.” … “Cycling is now seen as an important life skill in our school” … “Some parents have been amazed at the transformation.”

Mary herself has found it a real revelation: “I would never have thought that tricycles could be so much fun and lead to such an amazing transformation.” You’ll find her full entry, along with all the others, in the download below.

Second – Mark James, Dunbar – A stunning pictorial entry of how a series of trailers owned from 1990 to the present have enabled him to carry everything from shopping and the children to a 147kg load of logs. Mark’s discovery of bike trailers has inspired friends to do similar, and has enabled a largely car-free life.

Third – Charlie Wood, Edinburgh – Everyone with children must feel the wish to raise them in a healthy and environmentally-aware way. Charlie describes beautifully how having children inspired a growing awareness of the importance and value of getting about by bike, both for himself and the family. This in turn led to involvement in cycling politics, to seek safer and more pleasant conditions for everyone. “I wouldn’t have seen myself doing this 10 years ago – it’s a transformation for me.”

Fourth – Cllr Mark Brown, Edinburgh – Cllr Brown has made up for his 20 non-cycling years, pedalling over 1000 miles, for work and leisure, in the 4 months since getting his e-bike, inspired and supported by Graeme from Harts Cyclery. Named Horatio, the bike can be seen anywhere from the City Chambers to the Kelpies!

Fifth – Julia Dorin, Dunbar – A great entry showing how Julia’s bike commute from Waverley Station to the Infirmary has been transformed by no fewer than 3 separate infrastructure projects – the short segregated lane at St.Leonards (“hopefully a sign of a future norm”), lighting of the Innocent Tunnel (thus avoiding winter trips via Cameron Toll roundabout) and, most importantly, the new path past Craigmillar Castle to the Infirmary (replacing the previous stepped path). Julia’s commute is now “one of the highlights of my day.”

FULL SET OF ENTRIES

See the full set of entries in this 10MB pdf – anonymised except for the top entries, and with prize-winners first and runners-up second (runners-up get a consolation prize of one Spokes map).

The transformation for one of our prizewinners resulted from our 2017 competition! Kate Sugden won a day’s free hire of the EdFoC Urban Arrow cargo-bike last year – and loved it so much that she bought one to transport her daughter. And that transformative experience won her a prize this year. To top it all, she was placed in exactly the same position (7th) last year and this!

Conventional wisdom says e-bikes are for the lazy, but our entries suggest they can make you lose weight – and use a bike far more than ever, often after years or decades of non-cycling.

BIKE SHOP HEROES

It was great to see 3 entrants thanking individuals in their local bike shop (two of whom are Spokes members) for particularly helpful service and support. Use your local bike shop!! The praiseworthy individuals were…

OTHER TRANSFORMATIONAL IDEAS

As we said earlier, the main reasons people had experienced a transformation in their cycling life were – infrastructure improvements, getting an e-bike, getting a specially adapted bike, the Council’s city-wide 20mph and involvement in charity cycling. But here are some of the many other ideas that have transformed people’s cycling experience …

THANK YOU – EVERYONE ELSE!!

Many thanks to you if you entered, even if you didn’t win this time. Thanks also to the organisers, the 4 Spokes Resources and Planning Group judges and to Cllr Scott Arthur, our outside judge. Cllr Arthur is a Spokes member, a member of the Council’s Transport and Environment Committee, and a firm backer of a cycle/walk-friendly city.

WHAT’S NEXT & WHAT CAN YOU DO??

Look through the entries carefully – do any inspire you to try the same? Are there any you could recommend to friends, colleagues or family?

See the results of our many previous exciting, amusing and/or interesting competitions here.

If you’ve a great idea for next year’s competition, let us know! A topic that is useful to other people and which lots of people are able to enter is what we need. A couple of interesting ideas already…

How I encouraged or inspired someone else to start using a bike, or to cycle more – and the results. Could be a friend, child, parent, colleague, social media contact – anyone!

Design or sketch an A4 poster to encourage people to use a bike for their everyday purposes, or leisure, or to use a bike more. We could invite school entries in addition to the usual ‘anyone’ entries.